Farewell Prince

I was a little surprised to see Prince Fielder call it quits this week, but after two serious neck operations I cannot really blame him for walking away.  During his career Prince almost made $130 million dollars, plus insurance and the Detroit Tigers are going to pay him a whole lot more money over the coming years.

The last few years have been rough for Prince since he left the Brewers to sign with the Tigers after the 2011 season.  My in-laws are from Michigan and big Tigers fans, so I took a little more favorable interest in Prince the last few years of his career and managed to pick up a sweet cards of his along the way.

This Five Star Autograph might be my favorite recent card of Prince....

In my mind, my best memories of Prince will always be as a Brewer.  I didn't mind him as a player, I know a lot of Cardinals fans knock on the Brewers players, but Prince was always worthy of respect in my opinion.  Sure, he did things that my fellow Cardinals fans stupidly complained about like the year Mike Cameron all had them untuck their shirts after they won a game.....

but Prince hit a lot of home runs for the Brewers during his time in the National League Central.  Honestly, as a Cardinals fan I have always felt a little bit grateful for Prince Fielder the past few years.  Really, the team should have probably given him a World Series ring, or a share of the team's bonus money after he hit a go ahead home run for the National League in the All-Star Game to give the Cardinals home field advantage for games 6 and 7.

Without this.....

It's probably a little bit doubtful that Cardinals fans would have experienced this home run hit by David Freese to win Game 6 of the World Series.....

or David Murphy's fly out to Allen Craig to end Game 7 giving the Cardinals their 11th World Series title.....

Prince was a fun baseball player.  There were aspects of his game that were imperfect, but he always looked like he enjoyed playing the game.  This often translated into him having some really cool cards, especially while he was on the Brewers.  The best of them all is somewhat predictable, but it has to be one of the better first cards in the history of the Topps sets.....

Just an awesome card.  Call him whatever you want, again, the guy had fun playing the game.  A tip of the cap and a thank you.  It was a good ride Prince.  

Best of the Rest for June

I posted a lot of my extra pickups this month to my Facebook "Like" page just to float out some of the things that come into my collection that do not necessarily make it into a post because they are small, I do not have the time, or they are being flipped around for other cards.  I like the idea of showcasing cards in other ways outside of this space and have started working on putting pictures here and there of some additional cards and projects that I am working on with my collection.  Anyway, without further delay here is the Best of the Rest Top 5 for June:

5. 2012 Topps Chrome Drew Smyly Autograph 

Smyly is having a pretty solid season for the Tigers.  He's not in the rotation, after being given several chances, he's settled into the long relief role for the team.  So far in 2013 the University of Arkansas product is averaging a strikeout per inning and has a perfect record at 3-0.  I had actually considered putting a Adeiny Hechavarria card here for the Rated Rookie logo alone, but he stinks.  Possibly the worst position player, batting wise, in the Majors?  I vote yes.  Long reliever it is, cool Rated Rookie card below.  

2012 Panini National Treasures Adeiny Hechavarria Autograph 

4. 2010 Topps Debut Hak Ju-Lee Jumbo Jersey 

I was happy that the Rays brought Lee up from AA to play shortstop for the Durham Bulls this summer.  Immediately I rushed out and started picking up his cards knowing that the addition of Lee on the AAA roster meant that Mike Fontenot would spend the summer riding the pine.  Lee played well briefly for the Bulls before suffering a season ending knee injury.  I am still collecting his cards and think he is up with the Rays at some point next year.  The major concern surrounding Lee has always been whether or not he would hit, but he did very well offensively this year in the International League.

3. 2009 Topps Pat Neshek Autograph

Who is the best signer of all-time?  If I had to make a list of great signers this guy would be really high up on the list.  The A's right-handed reliever runs his own baseball card blog, has his own cool collection of cards, and openly advertises the fact that he will sign cards through the mail.  Though I have often contemplated sending Neshek something cool to sign.  I am not a big through the mail collector, but luckily Topps included a few of his autographs in their 2009 set.  

2. 2007 UD Black Victor Martinez Autograph 

This is a cool card from a really cool set.  A manupatch of a Venezuelan flag with an autograph?  Why not.  Not sure about that sticker autograph, but overall really cool looking card of a pretty good player.  Just not this year.  Still gets the number two spot in my countdown on the hopes that V-Mart can bounce back in the second half of the year.

1. 2009 Topps Tribute Prince Fielder Dual Jersey/Autograph 

This is a great card, but it was in my collection for a few days.  I traded for it, got it out of the mail, scanned it, repackaged it, and mailed it away.  Still it's a Prince Fielder auto, so it's pretty nice.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should have kept this one.  Seriously, sometimes I stumble upon a card that someone is trading away, or selling for well under value, and will pick it up and flip it around for something good.  In this case, this card and a few other Tigers cards were sent up north for a few Tribute cards.  

2013 Topps Museum Collection Prince Fielder Quad Jersey

I picked up another great pair of Topps Museum cards for my collection yesterday by adding a quad jersey card of Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder and an autograph of former Durham Bull Alex Cobb.  First the Fielder.  The quad jersey cards are a staple of Museum Collection sets and they come in a couple different forms.  My card is the most basic form of the quad jersey cards with just four pieces of plain jersey and no signature.  Still a much nicer card than a basic jersey card.

2013 Topps Museum Collection Prince Fielder Quad Jersey 

I know that many people pay attention to what Miguel Cabrera is doing, but Prince Fielder is having a great year so far too with a line of .276/.408/.506.  Add in the fact that he's on pace for another 30 home run season and also over 120 RBIs and Prince could have a pretty special season.  I picked up a few Prince Fielder cards last year during his first year in Detroit and might have to add a few more to my collection this year.  

2013 Topps Museum Collection Alex Cobb Patch/Jersey Autograph

My second Museum card belongs to former Durham Bulls, and current Rays starter, Alex Cobb.  While Cobb is not a top of the rotation starter he's a solid Major League starting pitcher.  In fact, this season he's had a pretty good year posting a 5-2 record with 54 strikeouts in 9 starts.  This card was really inexpensive for a hit card from a high end product and I like the patch piece of the left.  I believe that the blue stitching on the bottom of the window is the mountain on the Majestic logo meaning that the patch piece above is the bottom of the ray patch.

2013 Topps Silver Slugger Award Prince Fielder

I picked up one last Silver Slugger award for the collection in the middle of last week.  I was happy to see Prince Fielder's name on the checklist a week or so before the 2013 Topps product dropped, but was a little reluctant to pick up the card when I saw that Prince was wearing a Brewers jersey on the card.  I dabbled a little bit with Prince cards during the past year with him ending up on the Tigers last off season, but I haven't gone all in on Prince.

2013 Topps Silver Slugger Prince Fielder

Fielder actually won the Silver Slugger last season for the Tigers in his first season in Detroit.  I also got to check out a Tigers game last summer where I learned that Prince cannot slide.  Really, check out the video below.  Just like my Matt Kemp Silver Slugger card, the Prince is a very thick card and the metal bat on the side is really metal and is pretty heavy.  I am finished picking up manufactured cards from the first series of 2013 Topps cards unless I can find the Ken Griffey Jr. Silver Slugger card for a reasonable price.  

30 Year Top 50: 2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres

#17-The Prospect Premieres issues in the early 2000s were Upper Deck's answer to the popular Bowman releases by Topps.  In my opinion, the best of the releases was clearly the 2002 set.  While the 2001 set featured both veteran and rookie cards, the 2002 set focused squarely on rookie cards.  Initially, there were several acclaimed rookie cards in the set.

2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres Khalil Greene Autograph

One of the best cards in this set upon it's initial release was the Khalil Greene autograph.  Greene was a highly sought after player out of Clemson and was seen as one of the top college players in the draft that summer.  He was drafted by the Padres and initially did not disappoint.  He moved quickly through the Padres system and was a key contributer to the by the summer of 2004.  However, later years significantly dropped the prices and collectibility of this card.  Most copies of this card can now be found under $5.  

2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres Jeff Francis Autograph

Other players from this set would make the majors and be key contributors to their teams success, but their cards would not hold up their value over time.  Some of these players include Jeff Francis, Nick Swisher, Mark Teahan, and Joe Blanton.  Several other players could also be argued to fit into this category including Curtis Granderson whose card values have roller coastered.  

2002  Upper Deck Prospect Premieres Prince Fielder Autograph

The real gems of the 2002 Prospect Premieres set are the Prince Fielder and Joe Mauer rookie cards.  My favorite, the Prince Fielder autograph, is pictured above.  While many people don't truly judge the Mauer, nor the Fielder as true rookies, they only need to try purchasing, or trading for, these two cards compared to the two players official rookie cards.  Both have also had their ups and downs, as far as value goes, but in my opinion, the Fielder card is one of the iconic cards of the past decade.  The Mauer card, a jersey card, is not quite as valuable, nor as iconic.  

The Prospect Premieres sets were important sets because they challenged the decade long stranglehold that the Topps based Bowman products had placed on the rookie card market.  While some of the cards fizzled, and other succeeded, many collectors still love these cards and will collect them even if the player did not live up to the hype.  

Like the 2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres set?  Not in my Top 50 countdown is the 2001 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres set.  Like the 2002 set, the 2001 set was full of all sorts of promising rookie cards.  The best of the bunch belonged to Mark Prior.  It was one of the best cards of 2001.  While, I do own a Mark Prior, I am not going to post it here for two reasons.  First, Prior was an arrogant Cub who spoke of "beating the Cardinals back to third or fourth place", but never managed to win much of anything despite all of the chatter.  Second, Prior isn't really a great baseball story.  

2001 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres Greg "Toe" Nash Autograph

Meet my favorite player from the 2001 baseball card sets, Rays prospect Greg "Toe" Nash.  An old story from Peter Gammons chronicles the legend of the Toe.  Nash, like Prior, also flopped, but he was a long shot and fun to collect at the time of this sets release.  Both the Prior and the Nash card can be found for less than $10, but the Nash card is a lot cooler card to own.  

 

30 Year Top 50: 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter

#19- When the 2006 Allen & Ginter set was released many people thought that it was going to be another in a long line of retro products that Topps seems to issue each year.  However, in its first year, the Allen & Ginter set ended up being one of the most popular sets of the past thirty years.  Unlike some products that are widely available on the shelves of hobby shops for weeks at a time, the Allen & Ginter packs and boxes were snapped up in bunches early and often which lead to steep prices.  Even today, boxes of 2006 Allen & Ginter sell easily for north of $200.

Why the craze over this product?  Non-baseball autographs which are, in 2012 the seventh year of Allen & Ginter, now commonplace with this product.  The 2006 set featured Leon Spinks, Bruce Jenner, Jennie Finch, Danica Patrick, John Wooden, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Couture among others.  Of course, there were also great baseball autographs.

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter Chase Utley Autograph

Now, before some of you get excited about seeing non-baseball autographs you need to think about this:  In nine months of blog posts how many non-baseball cards have appeared on my page?  The answer is zero.  Honestly, if I had opened a pack of Allen & Ginter and found an autograph of one of the non-baseball personalities above it would have, at worst, ended up on Ebay.  It's not my thing as a card collector and probably never will be.  However, those cards are a huge reason this set is as popular as it is and also a huge factor in the successful run of Allen & Ginter sets for the Topps company.  

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter Prince Fielder Autograph 

Back to baseball cards.  The autographs in this set, that are of baseball players, are great.  Really nice pinkish banner across the middle of the card for the player to sign.  I am not sure I've seen an unattractive Allen & Ginter autograph.  Some of the players in the set are harder players to find signatures of, like Chase Utley, while others are a little more common, like my Prince Fielder.  Even though a player might have a large inventory of autographs, the demand for the Allen & Ginter autographs from this set drive the cards a little bit higher.  

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter Huston Street Autograph 

The set can be found for sale without buying a box, but it runs a lot higher than the normal Allen & Ginter set from more recent years.  The set, with short-prints, can easily run a collector $100.  The option of buying the set is cheaper than finding the packs, or buying the box, but if you would rather buy singles I have a few recommendations.  

First, there are many common autographs in this set which can be picked up for less then $20.  My Huston Street autograph above is a great looking autograph from an All-Star caliber player, but buying the single card saves you the expense of paying a premium for the non-baseball autographs in the set.  Besides, if you spent $200 on a box and your autograph was Huston Street you'd be completely disappointed.  If you trade another common autograph for one, or picked one up on Ebay or COMC, you'd probably not mind the cost.  

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter Dick Perez Collection Albert Pujols

My final suggestion is to check out the insert sets.  The inset sets are smaller and more manageable to put together, but offer some of the same great aspects of the base set.  My favorite from the Allen & Ginter set is the Dick Perez Collection.  The set is only 30 cards and features the art work of renowned sports artist Dick Perez.  Love this Pujols card above.  

Like the 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter set?  Not in my Top 50 countdown is the 2006 Topps Turkey Red set.  This set is cut from the same retro mold as the 2006 Allen & Ginter set, but is a little bit more sane to collect.  The cards, like the Allen & Ginter, are based on an older issue of cards.  

2006 Topps Turkey Red Matt Holliday 

One of my favorite aspects of this set is the fact that the base cards have different colored borders.  Each base card is available in grey, white, red, and black.  The set also featured jersey cards and autographs.

2006 Topps Turkey Red Garrett Atkins Autograph  

The set also featured blankets.  Hmm.  Anyway, the best autograph is the set is the Mariano Rivera.  I don't own it, but I do own this awesome Garrett Atkins card.  The autographs are all on card, but the texture of the cards, a bit grainy, can cause some of the signatures to look a little bit fuzzy/bumpy.  The set as a whole is much cheaper than the Allen & Ginter set with complete sets selling for around $30.  

2012 Topps Five Star Prince Fielder Autograph

I have really enjoyed the Five Star cards and spent plenty of time scoping out a few to add to my collection.  Last week I started to add a few through a few trades and a case break I joined.  I will putting up a few of my good ones over the next few days.  I figured that this card would be a great start for my Five Star cards on my blog space.

2012 Topps Five Star Prince Fielder Autograph/Jersey

I have long respected Prince Fielder as a player and was excited that he signed with the Tigers last off season.  One of my goals this year was to add a Prince Fielder autograph in a Tigers uni.  There were several possibilities during the summer, but procrastination and failure to find one via trades has left me at this point with this card.  

The card is on a very thick stock and the autograph is on-card.  The jersey piece is on the small side for a premium product, but overall, this card is a great product.  I would definitely recommend checking out the Five Star products and picking up a few for your collection.  A few more to come this weekend....

Facebook Trade

I completed a trade with an awesome trader on Facebook last week and scored some sweet cards in the process.  Ryan Marcus King Dee is definitely worth an add if you are looking for a good trade.  This was actually a purchase/trade, but Ryan is always awesome to deal with and he also runs a mean box break.

So, let's start off with the big card in this deal.  I added a really sweet piece to my Triple Threads collections with this 2008 Joe Diamggio 6 piece relic.

2008 Topps Triple Threads Joe Dimaggio 6 Piece Relic

The card features four pieces of jersey with pinstripes and two pieces of bat in the middle.  I haven't really dabbled too much with the Hall of Famers in this set, but this is always a good place to start.  I picked up a few other smaller pieces from Ryan too to help out with my Prince Fielder/Miguel Cabrera cards.  I actually traded a nicer Prince relic and broke it into a few relics that I didn't have in my collection.  I love the Lineage cream colored jersey.

2012 Topps Heritage Prince Fielder Jersey

2011 Topps Lineage Prince Fielder Jersey

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Prince Fielder Jersey 

Picked up one final card in this trade from the 2002 Topps Chrome set.  This card is a dual jersey of Mike Hampton and Ben Petrick.  It's technically a 2000s card, but I have always kind of liked these cards and have a few others from this set.

More Trade Highlights

I put a little sneak peek up for today's blog on my Facebook and Twitter page last night.  The last two post on my blog, the Shelby Miller and Matt Kemp card, were from the same trade.  Today's blog entry is some more highlights from that same trade.  After almost thirty years of collecting, and a few hundred thousand cards, I am trying to sacrifice some of the quantity from my base card collection for some quality in other areas.  The Kemp, Miller, and an Ozzie Smith card were the primary cards that I was targeting in this trade, but ended up with some other really nice pieces.  Today, I will start with the Ozzie.

2007 UD Premier Ozzie Smith Patch Card 

My other highlight card was a 2011 Bowman Platinum Jeremy Hellickson jersey/autograph.  The card is serial numbered out of 99 and took a lot of convincing to get it into the trade.  I have a few other Hellickson autographs, but did not have a copy of this card in my collection.  

2011 Bowman Platinum Jeremy Hellickson Jersey/Autograph 98/99

The rest of the cards in the trade were icing on the cake.  I got a couple of autographs, a few cool relic cards, and a plate as a throw in to make the trade complete.  Here are some highlights:

1997 Upper Deck Rey Ordonez Game Jersey Relic

2011 Topps Finest Michael Pineda Dual Jersey Autograph 

2009 Topps Tribute Prince Fielder Triple Jersey

2003 Topps Chrome Dennis Eckersley Record Breakers Jersey

2009 Upper Deck USA Baseball Triple Jersey Kolten Wong

2011 Bowman Platinum Brandon Guyer Autograph 

2008 Topps Opening Day Ryan Garko Plate 1/1